CANASTOTA >> In June 2012, on his fifth birthday, Ethan Paredes was diagnosed with leukemia. Almost exactly a year later, his grandmother, Gladys Collins, was diagnosed with lung cancer.

Today after treatment and many prayers, they are both in remission.

Collins said her daughter and son-in-law, Sara and Tony Paredes, and their church, South Bay Chapel, have been praying for both of them. She doesn’t believe she would be here right now if it weren’t for divine intervention.

In June, Collins was told she had a grapefruit-sized tumor behind her heart. After only a handful of treatments and a lot of prayers, the tumor vanished.

“The doctors said that my lungs looked like that of a healthy person during that screening,” Collins said. “I had struggled with breathing and lung problems for years before I was diagnosed.”

Collins grew up in Canastota and was a waitress throughout the area for years, serving at the Hotel Oneida before it closed. She eventually moved on and worked for Madison County as a driver.

“I thank God for my comeback,” Collins said. “We’re a family of prayer and a family of great faith.”

The biggest challenges have been the mounting medical bills and the continued treatments and checkups Collins has to go through.

“I just have to trust in God, and look for new ways to balance and pay for everything,” Collins said.

Ethan and his parents are still facing treatments; he’s only a year-and-a-half into three-and-a-half years of scheduled treatments for acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Ethan is home-schooled and enjoys playing soccer and baseball with local AYSO and Little League teams. His favorite thing to do when he isn’t playing sports is to play with his action figures. Ethan said he likes superheroes, and Superman is his favorite.

Ethan said he is feeling better now, although he still has to see the doctor once a month. His mother said it can be difficult; something as simple as a common cold can leave him hospitalized for weeks. Sara Paredes said with faith in God, the family has been able to carry on.

“We’ve met some wonderful and kindhearted people through all of this,” Collins said. She said that she had excellent, caring doctors at Upstate Medical in Syracuse that helped her through everything.

“When you see what some of the families are going through with similar issues, you realize that your walk through this could be much worse,” Sara Paredes said. “When my mother was diagnosed, I wasn’t sure what we were going to do. But, I knew that we just had to pray and press on, we had to stay strong and let our faith guide us.”

There will be a benefit for Ethan and Collins on Dec. 1 at the Rusty Rail, 3231 Seneca Turnpike in Canastota, from 1-6 p.m. with Steven Page of the Barenaked Ladies performing. There will be raffles and a buffet from 2-4 p.m. Tickets are available, pre-sale only, for $20, or 2 for $30 at the following locations: Oneida Floral on Main St. in Oneida, Village Haircare at 121 Genesee St. in Wampsville and the Bee Man Candle Company in Peterboro Street in Canastota. Children Under 12 can attend for free.

Tickets will be available until Nov. 24.

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About the Author

Until December, 2014, Nick will was a staff writer at the Oneida Daily Dispatch. Hailing from Madison. Nick is a 2012 SUNY Plattsburgh graduate. In his time at The Dispatch, he focused on education, history and community events coverage in Madison and Southern Oneida counties. Reach the author at nwill@oneidadispatch.com
or follow Nick on Twitter: @DispatchNick.